First-hand accounts of the Berklee experience

Berklee Blogs introduces Devin Wojtanek, a Music Business major and spring intern, as he begins his internship with Indie Ambassador, the team behind presskit.to, a portfolio web app designed to enhance communication within the professional music & entertainment industries. In today’s blog, Devin gives us an intern’s perspective on the recent marathon bombings and learning while on lockdown…

Writing this today, I would like to be able to talk about all the progress Indie Ambassador, as well as myself, have made over the past two weeks. Quite unfortunately though that would be difficult, as within the past two weeks, I have only made it into work once. There’s no “good” time for your city to be put on lockdown.

The last time I did make to Charlestown, it was a pleasant day, warmer than we’ve been used to lately. It was a very relaxed, just coming off a successful stint of meetings with Berklee, I spent the better part of the day dog-sitting our office dog Henry (most enjoyable), as I was continuing online research for companies. My most recent assignments have been a little broader and less specific. It’s mostly self-directed research online, looking for other music companies, whether potential partners or competitors, and taking notes. Our SXSW online radio station was so successful that IA has decided to carry on the station indefinitely, playing old and new sessions. Thus, I’ve been researching other online radio stations, seeing what they do best, and imagining what a successful station for IA would look like.

This research, as well as the totality of my other partner development research, has given me a much better view and understanding of the current landscape of music companies. A lot of the observations I’ve taken note of for myself would seem obvious, but its one thing to understand an industry in principle and another to see how real people and companies are navigating these waters. You can understand that the industry is dependent upon the internet, but to observe specific advantages and strategies taken out by others an invaluable experience. There are case studies all around us, pertinent to many situations, and a lot can be learned by just observing.

My supervisors were nice enough to give me the following Friday off as I was headed to New Jersey to finish recording Safety’s first EP. I have an unrelenting appreciation for the respect and appreciation everyone involved in IA gives to musicians, their present company included. They understand the music comes first, and as a result, not only have they made a future partner out of Safety and myself as a musician, but also my band and I have made a connection with them.

My band mates and I returned from New Jersey Monday morning at around 2 in the a.m. Upon arrive at Back Bay Station, we walked through the Prudential Center to get home, exiting from the building on Boylston Street. When we walked outside, we noticed the finish line, all the barricades set up, and even the multitude of bike riders pedaling through the marathon route despite the unmentionable hour. We said aloud to ourselves in anticipation, that the peaceful scene we were witnessing would be very different and filled with excitement in the coming hours. Little did we know of the impact of our words, and what resulted was the strangest week I’ve ever experienced. Public transit hesitations kept me from the office on Tuesday, and on Friday, I was too busy watching the real time episode of 24 unveil before my eyes. The good news is that everyone at IA is safe, and I’m extremely looking forward to returning to “normal” for these last two weeks with them.

Devin Wojtanek is a Music Business student in his final semester at Berklee (hometown: Chicago). He has played guitar in numerous punk bands during his stay in Boston, and currently finds himself as half of the guitar duo known as Safety. After graduating Berklee he plans on moving to NYC with his buddies to continue pursuing both the artistic and business aspects of music. He is currently a marketing intern at Indie Ambassador, a company which has recently launched the portfolio web-app Presskit.to.